Car Tax Changes Can Only Be Technical – Romanian PM

The European Commission last week took the second step in the infringement procedure against Romania regarding its car registration tax, giving the country a two-month deadline to amend its tax regime. If Romania fails to comply, the Commission may refer it to the European Court of Justice.

The Commission feels the tax applied by Romania discriminates against second-hand cars brought into the Romanian territory from other member states.

Romanian authorities and EU experts will resume talks on the car registration tax next week.

EU tax commissioner Laszlo Kovacs told RFI radio he spoke to Romanian Prime Minister Calin Tariceanu, to whom he explained that “CO2 emissions from a small, old car can be equal to those of a brand new Porsche Carrera” and Romania’s environmentalist approach is legitimate, but a law cannot be based on the age of a car, and the government should give people their money back.

He added that Romania, once referred to the European Court of Justice, stands no chance to win this battle, as there is a precedent, as Hungary was forced to eliminate a tax that was deemed illegitimate.

The government expects revenues from the collection of car registration taxes of RON766.8 million this year, of which it collected 39% in the first six months of the year.